When he went to roll off her, she clung to his sides. “Just a little while longer. I’m not ready for us to be two separate people again.”
He nipped at her earlobe. “As you wish, Jaanaman.” His pet name for her meant ‘heart of me’ and he stole a little more of her heart every time he whispered it.
Perfect sex in the perfect setting, and all she longed for were the awkward moments of reality. Misplaced limbs, sweat-soaked sheets, random bodily noises, the little moments that anchored you in the reality. These moments in her oasis were like a sad promise of what could have been.
“It will all turn out okay, won’t it?” Here, with Bast, she could voice her fears.
He looked down at her, and she could feel him growing hard inside her again.
“I won’t let it be anything else.” He kissed her deeply, and began to move, and words were no longer necessary.
Chapter 9
“You overstep your position, Director!”
The pompous man at the other end of the table waved a beefy finger in the direction of Killian. Azar had the overwhelming urge to snap it off and feed it to one of Aaron's sentinels. The wolves seemed to be having a tough time holding their human form with all the palpable anger in the room.
The announcement that the Unbound wanted their own chair on the Council went over about as well as expected. However, the idea of abolishing the enforced servitude system got a better reception. Everyone seemed to agree that if there were other means to support their society, then putting their young through the rigors of servitude seemed unnecessary.
Now, the outrage in the room made her skin prickle. Every stupid question that was shouted in the small meeting room made her grind her teeth a little harder.
How could the half-bloods have the audacity to demand a position of power? Surely they didn’t want to join the society? They’d already gotten immunity from persecution, what more did they want?
The easy bigotry made was going to make her snap. Cy was sitting next to her, keeping a supportive, and slightly restraining, hand on her forearm, fortunately. There was a good chance she would have kicked the little, round Jann’s ass. Generally, she liked the Jann. She loved Bast, and his friend Danian who she’d gotten to know during her time in the Adel compound. She even liked the previous Jann Councilor, may he rest in peace. But this man, this bigoted dirt bag, was jumping on her last nerve. She sincerely hoped he wouldn’t be the Jann’s nomination for Councilor.
“My position, Phillipe, is Commander-in-Chief. What is your position, exactly? Are you the new Jann Councilor?” Someone scoffed, and the man’s cheeks heated. “No, but I still care what happens to the Djinn under your leadership.”
“The only thing I care about at this moment is our survival as a species. Your petty concerns can be resolved after our safety has been restored.” He rose, squaring himself to his formidable height. “It is time the Djinn admitted that our old system is failing; our numbers dwindle every year, birthrates of full-blooded Djinn are declining at such a rate that children are becoming an anomaly in our world. We can cling to the old ways, try and maintain the purity of our bloodlines out of pride, until all we have left is that pride and the knowledge of certain extinction. We have an opportunity to embrace what we have been doing in secret for centuries. We breed with humans, and we produce offspring. These half, or even quarter bloods are an important part of our survival. You can admit that, or not, but it doesn’t change the fact. The numbers of the Unbound rival that of the full bloods now, and they deserve a place in our society and on our Council. You can plug your fingers in your ears, and pretend not to hear the truth like a child, but you are doing our race no favors.” His words echoed Jack’s original warnings so closely, Azar wondered if Jack had a bit of the foresight too.
“We will breed with humans until there is no Djinn blood left running through their veins,” a woman she didn’t know added. She had a point, probably.
Killian nodded. “Perhaps. Or perhaps our numbers will be bolstered so much that there will be adequate spouses for us all, our reproduction levels will be restored, and we will no longer have to look amongst the humans for mates. It is not a situation that will work in the long term; most humans are too fragile to carry a half-blooded child to full term anyway. But from what I have seen, they have no problems birthing healthy quarter blood children.” He was thinking of Freya.
Freya’s mother had been a Las Vegas stripper, who had raised Freya until she was seven. There was nothing wrong with that woman apart from a bone deep selfishness. However, she had gained an immunity to Shaitan abilities, so that was something to be considered, although they didn’t just go around using their abilities on the human population anyway. Their strict secrecy laws would definitely persevere.
The woman nodded, appeased by this explanation. She had to be a Sila, they were known diplomats. “You make a valid point, Director.” She looked around at the other Sila in the room. One of these women would definitely be the Sila Councilor.
Although the process of choosing a representative was different for each race, all the possible candidates had converged on New York. Normally they could have done it in their own lands but this was a time of crisis, and for better or worse, New York was ground zero.
Finally, the Sila woman nodded. “The Sila will accept the Unbound's proposition.”
Azar let out a little breath. It was a good start. The Sila were the natural politicians in the Djinn, and if they accepted it, the others would be swayed by their decision.
After that, it was like the flood gates had opened. Surprisingly, given their previous stance on half-bloods, the Shaitan agreed next. Her shock must have shown on her face. There were two Shaitan there, the waves of malice flowing off them were thick but unintentional. Being around Donovan had accustomed her to the knot of instinctual fear that occurred around them.
The Shaitan man looked directly at her. “Not everyone within our race believed as our former Councilor believed. Our numbers are now small, and without the half-bloods, there would be less than a hundred of us left in the world. We support interbreeding, and it would be hypocritical of us not to give them a place within the Council. Soon, it may be a half-blood who takes the Council seat for the Shaitan. Not today, but in the future.” The man’s voice was even and calm.
She inclined her head in deference. Of all the races, she’d expected resistance from the Shaitan, but it was one less hurdle. She looked hard at the two Shaitan men. She’d never met a female Shaitan, in fact, she’d never even heard of one, though they must exist. It was a question she wanted to ask Donovan, if she ever got back to the cabin. She missed the kids. And if she was being honest with herself, she missed the guys too. Maybe more than she should as a woman in a relationship.
Now, Azar looked around at the table, searching for the Ifrit Council applicants. She didn’t know who got to vote them in, but it hadn’t been her. She guessed they’d decided over in her home territory.
She’d thought that someone else from her family might go for it, Killian at least. But she’d soon discovered that in order to sit for Council, you couldn’t be a member of the Adel. With their world being in such flux, there was no way that Killian would give over the reins. Casper was too young by Councilor standards, and Darius and Cy were soldiers, not diplomats. Keeley probably could have stood up for the position, she was well respected as was Ashtoreth, who was in politics in Turkey. But she’d been wrong.
Joia would have been happy that there was finally a position of power that wasn’t occupied by one of the Saraf’s family. Thoughts of Joia filled her with sadness and rage. She would be avenged.
There were two Ifrit that she didn’t know in the room, a man and a woman, both with heavily accented English. “We believe this, er, would be the best course of action for us all. Best to save the species before worrying about the purity, yes?” The woman said, and smiled at Killian.
Cy leaned in close. “That’s Ezster, Killian’s ex-wife.”
<
br /> Azar sucked in a breath. No way. “Is she running for Councilor?” Cy nodded, and Azar made a silent apology to Joia. Apparently, there was only two degrees of separation from her family in the Djinn world.
Three votes down for the inclusion of the Unbound in the Council, and the wider society, and her heart was beginning to thump harder in her chest.
“Over my dead body are we going to allow our bloodlines be washed away with human blood. Humans are food. It would be like mating with a pig.” Lila gave Azar a dirty look, and when Cy removed his hand from her arm, it was clenched in a fist.
Killian threw them a stern look that kept them in their seats, and turned to face Lila. “Do you speak for the Ghul now, Lila?”
She threw him a smug look. “Yes, I have been voted in as the new Councilor for the Ghul.”
Azar’s heart sank. If they won this fight, she’d still have to leave the States. There is no way she could live in a country where Lila was in control. Their mutual hatred of each other was far too intense.
The world was split into territories, each race living and controlling one portion; the Sila ran the affairs of Western Europe and the Ifrit controlled Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The Jann had South America and the Ghul ran North America. The Marid ran Australasia and the Shaitan controlled the continent of Africa. They rarely ever interfered with each other’s territory, unless it was deemed necessary by the remainder of the Council. That meant that Lila would have complete control over the workings of Djinn society in the US.
She swore softly in her mind, refusing to give Lila the satisfaction of seeing her rattled. Plus, she wouldn’t be able to threaten her with death anymore. It would be considered treasonous now. Of all the goddamn bad fucking luck.
Killian’s mouth tightened, but he inclined his head. “Congratulations. I look forward to working with you.” He turned to the group of Jann down the table, and just like that, Lila was dismissed in a perfectly polite way. Years of political etiquette training obviously paid off.
“Oddly, and for the first time in known history, we are in agreement with the Ghul,” the first Jann said, and the chubby little Jann, Phillipe, smirked. This was quite a turnaround. Normally the Ghul and the Jann fought like the polar opposites that they were. Azar had kind of been hoping they’d vote yes just out of spite.
“Blood lines and purity mean nothing to us in the current situation, but this is not a decision that should be made with a metaphorical gun to our heads. Due process needs to be followed. This isn’t a decision for a kangaroo court.”
Killian’s face tensed, turning to granite. He slapped his hands to the tabletop, making her jump. “So be it. As Commander-in-Chief, it is my right to call for all the Council members, elected by your race, to be put forward and sworn in today. I have been gentle and lenient enough. We are at war, and we will still be making bureaucratic decisions as our people are slaughtered around us. Five p.m. people. Make it happen.”
There was another uproar, but Killian ignored them and walked out of the conference room.
Azar took the timeout to call Vincent.
“Johannson’s Dairy, Vincent speaking.”
“Vincent, it’s Azar.” There was silence from Vincent at the other end of the line, but she could hear Mavis murmuring in the background.
“Okay, go ahead, Mavis and Malee are here too.” Azar hadn’t realized Malee was still out there, but it killed two birds with one stone.
“I’m hesitantly positive about the outcome. So far, three races agree with the ultimatum. It’s down to the Marid. Killian has booted them all out to make a final decision on who their Council members will be. At the moment there are too many people involved and it’s a shit storm to reach any decisions about anything. When the Unbound are given a Council chair, they are going to want a Councilor to fill it immediately. I think you need to come down here, Vincent.”
There was a lot of muffled whispering.
“I don’t think so, Azar.”
“Pardon?” Surely she’d misheard.
“Both Mavis and I understand that it is vitally important that mixed-blood Djinn have a place on the Council, but I do not want to be the person in that place. Malee will come down before five.”
Malee was going to be the Councilor for the Unbound? It made sense. She had been a crusader for half-blood Djinn for decades. She was young by Councilor standards, but she was passionate, and she knew what was right and just.
“Okay,” Azar gave them the address of the hotel. “I’ll meet her in the lobby. We are so close now guys, I can feel it in my bones.”
After she’d given them a quick rundown of the meeting so far, and exchanged a few more pleasantries, they hung up and she walked back into the hotel, feeling hopeful that something was going to go right, just this once.
Cy found her in the lobby.
“I’m thinking extremely treasonous thoughts about one of our Council members at the moment,” Cy admitted, and she laughed. She was glad she wasn’t the only one.
“You got room at the barracks down in South America? Because I’ll be damned if I’m going to remain in the domain of Queen Bitch.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go and have a few drinks. We’ll put it on Big Bro’s tab.” Sounded good to her.
The atmosphere may have been tenser in the conference room, but Azar was feeling as chilled out as she had in months. She and Cy had racked up Killian’s tab a few hundred dollars, but at least now she didn’t feel like jumping the desk and setting Lila’s bleach blond hair on fire. Well, not much anyway. Let’s call it a necessary business expense.
She was bracketed by her family, Cy on her left, who being full-blooded didn’t even get tipsy on all that expensive scotch, and Malee, who’d arrived fifteen minutes earlier, looking confident.
Killian strode in and sat down, the general buzz in the room settling into hushed silence.
“Present your Councilors,” he said without preamble.
The Ghul stood first, the man turning toward Lila and bowing deeply. “May I present Lila Alterman, Councilor for the Ghul.” Lila smiled down at the man condescendingly, and then defiantly stared around the room, everyone dipping their head in deference. Azar just quirked an eyebrow at her. Lila sneered, and looked down her nose. If absolute power corrupts absolutely, she shuddered to see the effect power would have on the nasty Ghul. Lila finally sat.
The two Ifrit she had seen earlier stood, one being Ezster, Killian’s ex-wife. The man turned to Ezster and bowed deeply.
“The Ifrit present Ezster Mardines, Councilor for the Ifrit.” This time, Azar bowed her head to her new Councilor. Azar didn’t know the woman, but she knew Killian. There must be good in her somewhere for him to marry her. She trusted his judgement. Cy also had nothing negative to say about his former sister-in-law. That was good enough for her.
The sole Marid got to his feet, and she had to stare. He looked ancient, and for a long-lived race, that meant that he was older than ancient, he was practically a fossil. They were also so rare that there wasn’t another Marid to introduce him.
“I am Xavier, the Councilor for the Marid.” Again, everyone bowed. Azar made a note to ask Mira about this man. He was obviously old-school, and that didn’t bode well for the Unbound and their seat on the Council.
The Shaitan who spoke to her earlier, she didn’t catch his name, was elected as the Councilor for the Shaitan, and he looked everyone in the eye before they bowed. Azar had to resist the urge to shudder.
The Sila, Rossana, who had agreed with Killian earlier was chosen as the Sila Councilor.
Phillipe, the little round Jann, stood and Azar hoped beyond hope that he wasn’t their elected official. Lila and Phillipe on the Council would be disastrous.
She let out a relieved sigh when he turned to the older man next to him and put a hand across his chest like a salute. “I present Navid Navix, Councilor for the Jann.”
And it was done. She stared around the room at th
e people who would shape the future of the Djinn.
“Good. I welcome you all. Now on to the first order of business for the Council, the proposal of the Unbound. For those of you who may have been napping, the agreement would be this; in exchange for approximately a thousand trained men, they would require the abolishment of the servitude system, and to be given a position on the Council. We have talked this to death earlier, so it is time for a vote. All in favor?”
Sila, Shaitan and Ifrit hands went up, and Azar held her breath. Slowly, as if he was still weighing up the pros and cons, Xavier, the Marid Councilor, raised his hand.
“Adapt or die, no?” He looked at her and she bowed her head low. In reality, she wanted to jump on the table and do a happy dance.
Killian nodded. “The vote is four to two, the Unbound get their seat and the previous system of conscription is ended. We will have time to discuss the problems with that after the immediate threat to our world is obliterated. Will the Unbound put forth their Councilor?”
Azar stood, as did Malee. She opened her mouth to introduce her half-sister, but Malee began to speak first.
“Councilors, the Unbound put forth Azar Nazemi, of the Ifrit and the Unbound, as our elected Councilor.”
Azar blinked, and gaped, and then blinked again.
Killian cleared his throat. “Azar, do you accept this role?”
She looked at Malee, and then at everyone else in the room. Could she be a Councilor?
“Are you sure?” she whispered at Malee, and the other woman nodded. “We all agreed. It should be you.”
Dazedly, Azar looked at Killian. “I accept the role of Councilor,” she said, and watched as the entire room bowed their head in deference, except Lila. Azar couldn’t even enjoy the look on Lila’s face, she was in that much shock.
The Azar Omnibus: The Complete Azar Trilogy (The Azar Trilogy Book 0) Page 53